ICU students excel at the 53rd National Russian Language Competition

On Sunday, July 13th, the 53rd National Russian Language Competition was held at Tokyo Russian Language Institute, and Masakatsu Yanai (Faculty of Letters 3rd year) won the Effort Award in the "General Division" and Kazukana Miyauchi (Faculty of International Liberal Arts 3rd year) won the first prize in the "Beginner Division".

This competition, organized by the Tokyo Russian Language Institute and the Japan Eurasian Association, is held annually with the aim of improving the proficiency of the Russian language and developing exchanges and friendships with Russian-speaking people.

Titled "Advice for Those Who Study Abroad," Mr. Yanai said that from his experience of studying Russian in Kazakhstan for 10 months, knowing about the history of his country and the culture of Japan that foreigners are interested in is an opportunity to get to know the local people, build friendly relationships, and that when learning a foreign language, one should not forget one's own culture.
Titled "Beautiful Russia," Mr. Miyauchi wrote about his dream of enjoying magnificent church architecture and graceful ballet there, as a representative of Russian culture that he would like to touch someday, and his desire to spend peaceful time together in rich nature and foster friendships.

Mr. Yanai and Mr. Miyauchi's comments on the award are as follows.

• This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founder, Dr. Ikeda, receiving the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Honorary Doctorate award. In this memorable year, I am truly pleased to receive such an honor, following last year. Although the situation in Russia and Ukraine is still in a difficult situation, I strongly hope that peace will be restored as soon as possible and that people can return to their daily lives with peace of mind. We will continue to improve our language skills and strive to promote international exchange and mutual understanding. (Mr. Yanai)
• I'm very grateful to my friends who practiced their speeches with me late into the night, to my teachers, seniors and juniors who supported me, and to my family who are always on my side. I became interested in Russia because my roots are in Sakhalin. In reality, Russians are incredibly kind, with a sense of humor and are incredibly caring, like family. In order to further deepen the friendships I've built up until now, I'd like to work hard to learn Russian, even though I'm still inexperienced. Thank you so much! (Miyauchi)